The Cardano community has approved a proposal to allocate 96 million ADA from the Cardano treasury for development. The funds, equal to approximately $71 million, will go to Input Output Global (IOG), Cardano’s core development team. The 12-month initiative aims to enhance scalability, developer tools, and network interoperability.
Milestone-Based Funding to Drive Development
Cardano’s latest move focuses on structured funding and stronger oversight. The community approved the proposal with 74% of votes in favor, while six opposed and seven abstained. Intersect, a Cardano member-based body, will monitor fund distribution and project delivery.
Payments will follow milestone completions and utilize smart contracts to ensure accountability. A dedicated oversight committee will assist Intersect in managing disbursements. This structure was designed to address concerns about transparency and fund usage.
Tim Harrison, Vice President of Community and Ecosystem at IOG, said,
“This marks the first direct authorization of development funds by the Cardano community.”
IOG confirmed that all deliverables will follow a clear roadmap. These include both protocol improvements and developer tools.
Focus Areas Include Hydra and Acropolis Projects
Hydra will help reduce transaction latency and fees on the Cardano blockchain. Meanwhile, Project Acropolis will redesign the Cardano node for modularity and easier developer onboarding. Both initiatives form the core of IOG’s approved roadmap.
Hydra is expected to significantly enhance throughput by enabling off-chain scalability. Project Acropolis aims to simplify node updates and improve system performance. These upgrades are intended to create a more accessible and resilient ecosystem.
IOG also plans performance enhancements to reduce RAM usage for stake pool operators. This will lower operating costs across the network. Simultaneously, efforts will support more complex smart contract deployment and interoperability across blockchains.
Cardano Treasury Oversight Model Gains Spotlight
The Cardano treasury mechanism allows community-led decisions on development priorities. This approval reflects trust in decentralized decision-making, but it also raises expectations for result-oriented delivery. Community members previously voiced concerns regarding budget scale and tracking mechanisms.
Several members argued that the budget should have been split into smaller parts. They believed this would improve oversight and voting flexibility. However, the broader proposal won support over a competing one by the Technical Steering Committee.
Intersect declined to endorse the alternative proposal, reinforcing its support for IOG’s submission. Intersect board member Adam Rusch stated in April, “The community should decide what development path to support.” With funds now allocated, development will move into execution.

Summary
Cardano’s core development team, IOG, secured $71 million in ADA from the Cardano treasury. The funding, approved by 74% of voters, will support projects like Hydra and Project Acropolis. It will follow a milestone-based release process monitored by Intersect and smart contracts. This marks the first time the community directly approved development funding. The plan focuses on enhancing scalability, lowering costs, and improving developer experience on the Cardano network.
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FAQs
What is the total value approved from the Cardano treasury?
The Cardano treasury will release 96 million ADA, equal to about $71 million, to fund approved development activities.
Who will monitor the disbursement of these funds?
Intersect, as an independent Cardano body, will oversee the release of funds for milestones and other smart contract conditions.
Which are the key projects of the approved proposal?
The large projects are Hydra and Project Acropolis, which aim to enhance the scalability and the node infrastructure, respectively.
What were the issues that community members raised?
Others expressed worry about the projects’ cost and transparency, and about decomposing funding between small proposals.
What will this do to the Cardano ecosystem?
The upgrades aim to increase performance, decrease costs, and strengthen tools, boosting the Cardano long-term infrastructure.
Glossary of Key Terms
Cardano treasury: A decentralized fund used to support network upgrades and ecosystem development through community-approved proposals.
ADA: Is the native Cardano cryptocurrency that can be used to make payments and to govern.
IOG (Input Output Global): The primary development organization of the technical roadmap and software implementation related to Cardano.
Hydra: A scalability layer 2 solution to Cardano that will help in shortening the transaction time and cost.
Project Acropolis: A general overhaul of Cardano node infrastructure redesigning the architecture to be more modular and giving better access to developers.